Canton Council still debating leadership posts

Councilman Thomas West may have to seek a court decision if he wants to undo vote on majority leader

Matthew Rink CantonRep.com staff writer @mrinkREP

It could take a legal challenge by Councilman Thomas West to unseat Councilman Frank Morris as council's majority leader for the next two years.

West, D-2, on Monday was unable to convince any of the six council members who supported Morris, D-9, or the one person who abstained from Thursday's vote to call for a reconsideration. West believes council should "keep trying" until at least seven members agree on a majority leader.

He'll wait for Law Director Joseph Martuccio to issue a formal, but not binding, opinion on the vote before he decides his next move, which could be to seek the decision of the courts.

"Neither one of us reached the finish line," West said. "My belief is the race keeps going."

Morris defeated West by a 6-5-1 vote for the position of majority leader/vice president of council on Thursday.

Council President Allen Schulman ruled that Richard Hart's abstention should not be included in the tally and that Morris, with six of 11 votes, carried a majority. Schulman referred to a section of council rules that says abstentions are excluded from the count.

Martuccio, however, cited another council rule that says officers are elected by a majority of council's members. Martuccio has also referred to Robert's Rules of Order, a guide for parliamentary procedure, which says that abstaining from a vote is equal to a 'no' vote.

As a precaution, Martuccio is asking that proposed legislation be signed by seven members of council, rather than just committee members, to safeguard any ordinances that may eventually be passed.

Council on Monday met two hours prior to its regular session to go over proposed rule changes for the two-year term. Morris chaired both meetings, but not without objection from West and others. Some members questioned why the committee meeting was even being held and who was part of crafting the proposed rule changes.

"Nobody asked me what I thought," Councilman David Dougherty, D-6, the previous majority leader, said at one point.

Councilman Edmond Mack, D-8, brought forward many of the proposed rule changes. Clarifying how council elects its officers and what to do in the case of an abstention were among the proposals. Mack said council could wait to discuss those proposals until Martuccio issues an opinion.

Also proposed is to set an exact time and place for council to hold its organizational meeting in which members discuss, but are not supposed to vote on, who will serve in leadership positions.

"That way, when somebody decides to oust me, you know where and when," a joking Morris said.